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Remembering Gandhiji

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Gandhiji pictured handing over a draft to Jawahar Lal Nehru, in this 1938 snap.

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Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born in Porbandar, a coastal town of Gujarat in India on 2nd October, 1869. His father, Karamchand Gandhi, who belonged to the Hindu Modh community, was the 'Diwan' of Porbander state.

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Gandhiji left for London on September 4, 1888, to study law at the University College, and also to get trained as a barrister. He returned to India after completing Law on June 12, 1891. On his return, he was informed that his mother had passed away. Gandhiji's attempts to establish himself as a lawyer failed when he was practising law in Mumbai. After applying and being turned down for a part-time job as a high school teacher, he ended up returning to Rajkot to make a modest living by drafting petitions for litigants.

With his mother being very spiritual and with the Jain traditions being prevalent in his region, young Gandhiji absorbed early influences that would play an important role in his adult life. These included the compassion to sentient beings, vegetarianism, fasting for self-purification, and mutual tolerance between individuals of different creeds.

Gandhiji, who was the pioneer of 'Satyagraha', firmly founded the word 'Ahimsa' or total non-violence which led India to independence and inspired many civil rights and freedom movements across the world. He was nicknamed as 'Bapu' which officially honoured as India's 'Father of the Nation'. His birthday, which is on October 2, is celebrated as 'Gandhi Jayanti'.

As child, Gandhiji was inspired by the story of 'Harishchandra'. He in his autobiography admits that it left an indelible impression on his mind and wrote, "It haunted me and I must have acted Harishchandra to myself times without number". Gandhi's early self -identification with truth and love as the supreme value is traced back to his identification with these epic characters.

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In 1906, after the British introduced a new poll-tax, Zulus in South Africa killed two British officers. In response, the British declared a war against the Zulus. Gandhiji actively encouraged the British to recruit Indians. He argued that Indians should support the war efforts in order to legitimize their claims to full citizenship. The British, however, refused to commission Indians as army officers. Nonetheless, they accepted his offer to let a detachment of Indian volunteers as a stretcher bearer corps to treat wounded British soldiers.